WESTERN CONSTRUCTION, INC.

Two contractor employees were working with customer personnel to install 6" blind skillets between a natural gas valve and flange couplings. While attempting to spread flange couplings apart to install the blind skillet, gas began leaking from the flange separation. A contractor employee attempted to seal the leak by pumping grease into the 6" valve fitting using a battery-operated grease gun. While doing so, the escaping gas ignited and the fire engulfed the workers. One employee was hospitalized for burns to the arms, face, and the back of their neck.

An employee was using a scraper to clean debris from an asphalt paver when his safety vest became caught on the paver and he was pulled in toward the auger. He was hospitalized with second and third degree burns from the mid-torso to the armpit. The paver was running at the time of the incident.

An employee was severely burned by steam/hot water during a maintenance check on a malfunctioning water pump.

An employee was operating a machine when a wire pulled his right glove resulting in amputation of the index and middle fingertips.

An employee was grinding chicken when their right index fingertip was caught in the grinder and amputated.

An employee was sharpening peeler blades when their shirt was caught in the grinding wheel. The employee sustained tendon damage and a crushed right hand.

An employee was passing through a large metal door when the door closed on the employee, resulting in a cracked rib.

An employee was preparing to cut lumber on a panel saw when the clamp engaged and caught the employee's left middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.

An employee was cleaning out an inlet pipe in a stormwater structure. The employee stepped back, fell into the pipe, and landed on concrete 13 feet below, at the bottom of the structure. He suffered a broken back.

A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.

An employee was operating a roller and paving a small pathway next to a pavilion. The ground was on a slight pitch, causing him to reach up toward the roll cage to stabilize himself. His right fifth finger was pinched between the roll cage and the rafter of the pavilion. The employee sustained a partial degloving injury with partial traumatic amputation.

An employee was working with paving equipment and heard a noise on the opposite side of the machine he was working on. When the machine stopped, the employee went to the opposite side and crouched down to investigate the noise. A mini track loader backed up and drove over the employee's leg. The employee sustained fractures to their lower leg, ankle, and foot.

An employee tripped over a bin and fell to the floor. She landed on her hip and braced herself with her arm, resulting in a fractured hip and wrist.

An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.

An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.

An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.

An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.